


Control [Gained/Lost]

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Pacifist Route, Spoilers - No Mercy Route, Undertale Continues To Destroy My Emotions In The Best Way Possible
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 12:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5333330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frisk chose the option Chara never attempted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Control [Gained/Lost]

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I finally got around to making an account here, and since I've been quickly sucked into the Undertale fandom, I ended up writing for it. Enjoy!

When Frisk was aware once more, two things were prominent in their mind: the disjointed feeling between their thoughts and their body was present once more, and a knife - crafted with a sharp silver metal, unlike the blunt plastic of the previous toy - clutched in their fist.

Chara was in control.

As that chilling realization set in, they observed their surroundings to attempt to find out who they - Chara's mind and Frisk's body - were opposing this time. Their heart sank once they saw the figure standing across from them. 

Sans stood, left eye already glowing blue with wisps of magical flames, in the middle of the golden hall. His ever-present grin still shone, but it lacked its usual shine, like when he and Toriel slipped silly puns into their conversations. However, their wistful thought was quickly swept away as the embers flared into a blue fire, and their body sprung into action. The battle repeated as it had many times before - five, ten, twenty, or maybe even more; they lost count as the saves and resets multiplied to undo errors and accidents, clarity blurring more when Chara's hold tightened. The now-familiar patterns of lasers and glowing bones filled the hall as they - Chara - dodged the increasingly intense attacks barreling towards them. Despite the barrage, they still relentlessly continued their attempts at landing an attack, hastening as Sans' stamina slowly drained. 

Finally, the onslaught of attacks stopped, and the skeleton stood lax as the aqua magic faded from harsh flames to a glowing pupil. Despite his offer of mercy, Frisk flinched at the memory of Chara’s prior reactions to Sans’ lenience. Chara had never taken the opportunity of mercy, despite a [SAVE] being present to return to mere moments into the past.

However, unlike any timeline before, Frisk felt the flinch physically as well as mentally. As their bodily control returned, they quickly dropped the knife clutched in their hand - desperately attempting to ignore the thick, caked dust layered on the weapon and their body – and ran across the hall towards Sans. Unsure of how long they would be in control, they frantically started to explain the timeline’s events through strings of jumbled apologies and tears mixing with the gray powder on their cheeks. Sans didn’t verbally respond; instead, he opened his arms and motioned Frisk towards him. They rushed forward and hugged the skeleton, continuing to utter admissions into his plush jacket.

Despite his previous motions, the hug was not reciprocated. Frisk heard the now-familiar crackling of magic once more as they looked upwards to see an empty eye socket and a bright glow trailing away from his face.

“nice try, kid.”

Instead of arm bones wrapping around them in a comforting gesture, a singular bone, catapulted by magic, cracked through their spine into their [SOUL].

\---------------------

Frisk jolted awake in their bed, trembling as they tried to slow their breathing. The pain of the wound lingered, despite it being inflicted within a dream—

No.

It was a memory.

They glanced down at their hands, which were grasping the blanket into clumps, and let out a sigh upon noticing the lack of dust coating their skin. Everyone was alive and well the evening prior, but…

It wouldn’t be the first time a happy ending was suddenly destroyed.

After sitting in the dark, silent room for a few more minutes, they collected the blanket and carefully slid off the bed. Sleep only grew increasingly fleeting as timelines reset more, and they knew by now that rest would be fleeting now. Luckily, they were staying with Sans and Papyrus for the night, and they had a television and a couch downstairs that would serve as a good distraction. Perhaps a re-run of one of Mettaton’s shows would be playing this late at night…

They tiptoed down the hall and proceeded down the stairs, as their blanket dragged behind them, covering multiple steps above their feet. Despite a few creaky boards and the rustling sheet, they arrived at the first floor without interruption – until they entered the living room.

Sans was on the couch, still wearing his worn hoodie and black shorts. However, he lacked his usual lax, splayed position while resting; instead, he was curled into a tight ball in the corner of the couch. The most unusual feature was the turquoise glow emanating from his left eye and illuminating the room, flickering around the curve of his skull. They quickly stepped back - that glow never meant anything good; it meant they weren't in control and things had gone very, very wrong - but in their haste, their ankle collided with the bottom stair, quickly knocking them to the floor. The magic flared from a flame to a blaze as he jumped in surprise, but once he spotted Frisk in the stairwell, it quickly vanished.

"kid?"

Even though the blue glow had now disappeared, they cowered and pressed themselves backwards into the stairs as far as possible. Sans rose from the couch and slowly approached them, crouching down to Frisk's lower eye level.

"kid?" he repeated, "isn't it a bit late to go exploring?"

Instead of responding, they asked, "Do you still know about the [RESET]s?"

His expression turned steely for a second before he stood up and spoke, in a somber tone, "come on."

Frisk hesitantly followed his actions and trailed behind Sans back towards the couch. He returned to his previous location before patting the cushion beside him, and Frisk climbed up onto the soft furniture, albeit farther away from the skeleton than usual.

A tense silence lingered for a few moment until Sans spoke up and said, "did you have a nightmare about one the [RESET]s?" 

"...It was a memory," they whispered. They paused for a moment, but when Sans didn't respond, they continued, "Everyone else was dead. Chara's fault."

"chara?" he asked, confusion seeping into his tone. “the first child?”

Despite his lack of understanding, they continued, "Chara was in control. They fought you until you offered mercy. Then it was me."

The pinpricks of light in Sans' eyes shrunk even further as he replied, "you accepted mercy."

They nodded hesitatingly.

"i used my magic," he said, shoulders slumping.

They gave him another smaller nod, ducking their head down toward their torso.

Sans turned his head away from Frisk and blankly stared at the wall across from the couch. "...i killed you instead of chara."

They pulled their knees closer to their chest before mumbling, "You were angry at Chara."

Sans' shoulders slumped as he turned back to Frisk, whose face was now stained with thin tear tracks. "… whatever happened, whether it was you or not, it didn't happen this time. we can talk about the details later."

They lifted their head slightly, eyes wide, and tightly hugged Sans around the ribs. He sat still in surprise for a moment before quietly chuckling, "i promise, i don't have a bone to pick with you."

Muffled giggles rose up from the side of his hoodie, and their grasp loosened slightly. As the noise died down, he started to stand up and insist that Frisk go back to sleep in their bed, but he hesitated when their arms clamped around him once more. Instead, he reached for the blanket Frisk had dragged down the stairs from the top of the sofa and covered the duo.

Before the two could completely drift off, Sans heard a tiny yet calm voice say, "Thanks, Sans."

"no problem, kid."


End file.
